Why do men watch porn before or even after marriage? An ex-addicted to porn says:
“Pornographic films turned my sexuality into a form of science fiction or fantasy. I could not relate these fantasies to any real human experience.”
In a world where sex has transformed from being a process that expresses the utmost intimacy and the highest expression of the warmth of human relations to a global industry whose income, according to some estimates, exceeds $100 billion annually worldwide, and the salary of a female worker is $250,000 annually, This leads us to an undeniable fact that as pornographic content in the last ten years at least has had a frightening boom, especially with the spread of smartphones and high-speed Internet.
In Canada, for example, 7 out of 10 13-year-olds have watched pornography on the Internet, and in a survey of more than 500 US college students, 93% admitted they had been exposed to pornography at least once before the age of 18.
In a report submitted by the Attorney General of the United States of America to President Ronald Reagan, the report stated that “Contrary to what many people think: porn does not express sexual liberation or liberal progress, nor does it help to improve the sexual state of an individual or society, but rather an addiction and slavery". So why do men watch porn? And how does porn addiction impact marriage? And what are the expected harms of porn?
Why do men watch porn?
Porn gives men a super pleasure that they do not find in real sex, where pornographic films excite the human body in a way that scientists call “supernormal stimuli,” which is arousal that exceeds the level of natural sexual excitement for humans, due to two main factors: First: Porn films offer men an infinite number of naked girls accessible with a simple click of a button, which natural sexual relationship does not provide. The second factor is the fantasy scenarios that men can find in pornographic films, whether in the introductions to the sexual process presented in the videos or in the details of the sexual process itself that has nothing to do with normal sex.
In a remarkable experiment, Australian researchers repeatedly showed a pornographic clip to a group of young people. At first, the movie was exciting for young people, but the more the same clip was shown the less excitement, and after 18 repetitions of the clip, the excitement almost disappeared completely, then on the 19th time, the researchers showed a new clip, and the youth's excitement level increased to the same level as the first clip shown the first time.
Where this study showed that a person responds sexually only to continuous renewal and is not aroused by repetition, which means that the viewer of pornographic films is organically linked to the endless renewal that is available in porn films only and not in natural sex, so many married couples cannot get rid of their watching of pornographic films even after their marriage.
In another study that dealt with the effect of dopamine (the hormone of happiness and one of the most important contributors to sexual pleasure) on addiction, the study showed that at the beginning of the period of watching pornographic films, films give the viewer a sense of comfort and remove sexual tension.
But with time and with a lot of watching, the super-natural stimulation occurs as a result of the viewer being exposed to excessive excitement than the normal rate, so the brain is forced to change its chemistry by reducing its response to the hormone dopamine, which means that the usual dose of porn during the watching period (or in normal sex) will not give the viewer a feeling of happiness, and it will take more than just sex or watching a clip or two to reach the peak of pleasure.
Accordingly, the viewer will resort to trying new porn categories so that he can increase arousal to satisfy his sexual desire, but the problem is that in the world of porn, ratings, and scenarios do not end, and the viewer continues to go down and move from one category to another and from one scenario to another without end. With this avalanche of opinions and categories, the question arises: How porn affects relationships and men's sexual health?
How porn affects relationships?
A study conducted in 2007 proved that men's exposure to a large number of sexy pictures of girls leads them to lose interest in their partner, which increases divorce cases and marital aversion, as the husband sees his wife as less attractive than other girls. According to a study titled "The Impact of Pornography on Sexual Satisfaction" conducted on young men of both sexes who were exposed to pornographic content over only six weeks, watching pornographic films generated feelings of alienation in the viewer (the tested person) towards his life partner, and viewers reported a decrease in their satisfaction with their partner has significantly increased since they started watching porn, expressing their discontent in particular with their partner's affection, physical appearance, and sexual sensuality and performance.
How does pornography affect men's sexual and mental health?
The American psychologist, Brian Rina, said that porn not only ruins marital relationships but also damages the sexual health of men. In another research conducted in 2016, Brien participated with six researchers, entitled "Does Pornography Cause Sexual Diseases?" the researchers observed the direct effects of pornography on a higher incidence of erectile dysfunction, delayed ejaculation, decreased libido, and loss of enjoyment with a partner.
It is noteworthy that the harms of pornographic films are not limited to the organic level only. But also include psychological damage. One of the damages is insensitivity (Desensitization), which means the viewer's loss of enjoyment in activities and interests they used to find fun and exciting. The list of psychological damage from pornographic films also includes increased anxiety as well as a tendency to anger reactions in general, loss of concentration, and inability to perform long-term tasks, in addition to the overwhelming feeling of apathy and lethargy in viewers all the time, which can lead to depression.
How men's porn addiction contributes to degrading women?
You may wonder how men degrade women because of their addiction to watching porn? Well, in a study conducted in 2010 on 304 prevalent pornographic films, the researchers observed that about 50% of the scenes in pornographic films included verbal violence, such as insults, verbal abuse, threats of physical harm, and the use of repressive language, also these scenes included about 90% of physical violence, such as pushing, biting, hair pulling, stabbing, slapping, suffocation, torture, and the use of some sharp instruments. This inhuman, violent behavior has always been against women, with an average of 11 violent acts per scene, and, strangely, the response of women in these films towards this cruelty was mostly positive and expressing women’s satisfaction and happiness with this insult, which reinforces the culture of sexual exploitation of women in society.
But is this humiliating treatment of women what takes place in the natural sexual process, which makes her feel satisfied? According to sociology professor Jill Danes, the man in pornographic films practices "the oppression of women, and every sexual act is designed in movies to send the most severe insult." So Harvard Law Professor Diane Rosefield sees porn as an “attempt to dehumanize what is being filmed,” and explains how pornographic films only portray women as "sex objects". Then Rosenfeld goes on to say: "Pornographic films play a strong role in stereotyping the man as a master and the woman as a whore, and also works to spread the culture of this duality and portray it as an exciting, sexual, and desirable relationship, and the truth is otherwise."
How long does it take to recover from porn addiction?
Pornographic films look, as described by one of the addicted men: “It enters the body like a needle and comes out like a hook.”They not only cause changes in the chemistry of the brain and body, but it makes the addict suffer from harmful psychological effects, his sexual health deteriorates, and pornography threatens his married life. He also changed his thinking about things, women, and the sexual process.
It is an industry that aims to connect consumers with products, not to improve their health or sexual health. Amid this tragedy, the question is urgent: How long does it take for a brain to heal from pornography?
Some researchers estimate the recovery period from pornography to be at least two months until the addicted person regains complete sexual health, but - like any other addiction - the treatment process for pornography - primarily - includes withdrawal symptoms similar to withdrawal symptoms from any other addiction, but the most prominent symptom of stop watching porn is the so-called flatline, a period that includes "death of sexual desire" where the patient loses his sexual desire almost completely and feels permanent lethargy, a withdrawal symptom that disappears as the recovery of body chemistry and its return to normal. But what about after this period? Is it possible to fully and permanently recover from pornography?
Two researchers studied the case of a porn addict whose sexual relationship with his partner deteriorated, and he lost interest significantly in the relationship due to his pornography addiction, Eight months after the patient stopped watching pornographic films, his sexual health improved, his natural libido increased again, and he has becomes able to enjoy good sexual relations with his partner.
Conclusion
After we answered the question "Why do men watch porn" we must remember that in light of the sexual repression suffered by our society and many societal problems related to sex, such as sexual harassment, impotence, and other problems, the issue of recovery from porn comes as a priority that specialists, therapists, and preachers must pay attention to, as pornography represents a modern epidemic launched by capitalism to destroy bodies and minds mercilessly.